Under the village chief's dumbfounded expression, Kaede finished a portion that even an adult couldn't finish. This could be considered her farewell feast.
In the afternoon, people from the Empire had already arrived. There were over a dozen armored men, each equipped with weapons.
And Kaede could very clearly feel the scent of blood on them.
The leader walked over, looked at the village chief, and asked in a cold voice, "Where are the people of your village?"
"They have long been prepared," the village chief said, slightly bowing his already bent back, and pointed at Kaede behind him.
"A girl?" The captain glanced at Kaede. At that moment, the village chief, who had somehow picked up a money pouch from the ground, respectfully held it between both hands and said, "Sir, your money pouch fell."
"Hmm, next time it's best to find a boy. This time, we'll let it slide." The captain took the money pouch, a smile appearing at the corner of his mouth. Looking at Kaede, he said to the people beside him, "Take her away!"
The village chief's mouth twisted bitterly. There would be a next time? These... demons.
Watching the approaching people, Kaede knew she had no strength to resist. However, she also disliked being dragged away and said, "Don't touch me. I'll walk on my own."
After saying this, Kaede avoided the hands of the two Soldiers and walked step by step toward the large, black cloth-covered cage over there.
The two Soldiers and the captain were momentarily stunned. Since she wasn't resisting, it was a good thing. They didn't mind and even looked at Kaede with a bit more respect.
When the black cloth was lifted, Kaede couldn't help but freeze. Inside, it was already packed with children—both boys and girls. Some even had bloody marks on their bodies, likely from being beaten for disobedience.
Such people, in this kind of weather, probably wouldn't last long, Kaede thought.
"Get in quickly!" A Soldier beside her pushed Kaede, nearly knocking her to the ground.
Staggering slightly, Kaede regained her composure and walked inside.
The cage was closed once again. Throughout the process, not a single child attempted to escape—perhaps they were already hopeless, already broken by fear.
"Move forward! Just two more villages and we'll be done!" the captain shouted.
Inside, Kaede eventually found a corner and sat down. No one spoke to her, and she had no intention of speaking to anyone either.
The smell of blood permeated Kaede's surroundings. She knew it came from the blood of the injured children. But to think of stopping their bleeding? Don't be ridiculous. Even if they all died, it wouldn't matter—they could just capture a few more.
Later, Kaede saw the source of the bloody smell. The child brought up from the next village became the protagonist of this scene.
Not everyone was like Kaede.
This one clearly wanted to get off and kept crying.
So, the next moment, Kaede saw him being whipped with a leather whip.
Try to escape? Whipped. Cry? Whipped. Make them unhappy? Whipped!
And so, this one was whipped until he passed out, then thrown inside like trash. Kaede even felt his blood flowing toward her after a short while.
But no one spoke, including the people from that village. They couldn't, and they didn't dare.
Kaede watched all this without moving, even though the place where she sat was already soaked in blood. But what did it matter?
She had just arrived in this world but had already seen its darkness. Was she just unlucky, or... was this world simply like this?
Kaede didn't want to dwell on it. At that moment, she understood one thing: in this world, she would have to struggle to survive in this darkness.
...
Time passed, though no one knew how long. The squad's mission seemed to be completed, and they continued moving in one direction.
Finally, the convoy stopped. The black cloth covering them was finally lifted.
Instantly, dazzling light poured down, forcing Kaede to close her eyes. But even such sunlight couldn't dispel the chill in her heart.
When she opened her eyes again, Kaede finally saw the full view inside the cage. Children were sitting all around, some even lying motionless.
Every child's eyes were filled with lifeless gray.
Kaede looked beside her. It was the boy who had been the second-to-last to board. His eyes were still wide open, but there was no life left in them.
Even the blood flowing from him hadn't stopped, continuing to spread around.
Kaede looked beside her. Sure enough, it was already stained red with blood.
"Get down!" The iron cage had been opened, and the captain stood there, speaking.
Without hesitation, Kaede was the first to stand up and walk down. Only then did some of the other children slowly follow her out.
"Hurry up!" the captain barked sternly.
Instantly, the line became somewhat chaotic. Some who had been beaten into submission began crowding.
However, as the first one out, Kaede avoided such issues. But she also saw that inside the cage, some children who still had a breath left were struggling.
After the last standing person walked out, the captain didn't even glance inside and said directly, "Bury the rest somewhere." After saying this, he looked coldly at the group of children before him.
"Wait here," the captain said, then walked away with his Soldiers.
Only then could Kaede observe her surroundings. There seemed to be only one gate here, with many people watching. It seemed impossible for her to escape.
Moreover, Kaede looked over there. There seemed to be another group of children sitting there, and it appeared another batch was arriving at the gate.
It seemed the numbers were truly not small.
However, after observing that there was no place to escape, Kaede stopped looking. The rest could only be taken one step at a time, right?
But it seemed Kaede's batch was one of the earlier ones.
Kaede waited there for a long time, but no one came to manage them. She only saw that the gate over there was still continuously bringing in batch after batch of children.
However, at one point, Kaede felt someone gently tugging at the corner of her clothes.
"Sister," a little girl's voice reached Kaede's ear.
"Sister?" Kaede was taken aback, then turned her head, wanting to say she had mistaken her. But the next moment, she froze. When Kaede had drawn this body, she had naturally become very familiar with her own appearance. But the little girl before her was almost identical to her, except for the color of her eyes.
Only, the little girl opposite had much shorter hair.
"Who are you?" Kaede finally asked.
"Sister?" The little girl was puzzled by Kaede's question. She was her sister—how could she not know her name?
"Kuro!" At that moment, another voice reached Kaede's ear.
"Huh!" The little girl's eyes widened instantly.
Then Kaede turned her head. She and the other girl were now staring directly into each other's eyes.
"Huh!?!?"
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